Transcript
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Moving to a new community or evaluating a new community, it's helpful to have a local
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person here who can really kind of short-circuit the pitfalls that you might have on where to start.
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You know, who to talk to. I say we're kind of a jack of all trades depending on what the project
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needs. We've got some that walk in the door. They've got a site identified and they want to know,
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you know, what do we need to do to get a building permit? We've got others that come in and they've
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they've got a business and they don't know the first thing about the community and where they
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should look, what's important and just some, you know, really behind them, you understand,
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behind the scenes, information that can be communicated to help them have a better experience.
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Welcome to Gone to Texas, the official podcast of the Texas Economic Development Connection.
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On every episode we share the stories of business owners and CEOs who have relocated or expanded
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their business into Texas. Our goal is to use these stories as a guide to help others who are ready
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to hang a sign on the door that says Gone to Texas. And now, please welcome your host, the managing
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partner and chief inspiration officer for day one experts, Super Day Queen.
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Hi, friends. Welcome to another edition of Gone to Texas. I'm your Super Day Queen. Today,
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I'm down in Bernie Texas, which is in the Alamo region of Texas sitting down with the lovely
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and talented Amy Story who runs the Bernie Kindle County Economic Development Corporation.
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Correct. All right. A lot of words. A lot of words. So thanks for joining us.
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Thank you for having me. We're on the hills of your annual meeting, which was a fabulous event.
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Congratulations for that. Thank you. Glad to have you as our speaker.
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Well, it's always fun to get together and talk about what you've done over the last year and then
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kind of set the vision for the next and you'll have done a great job for that. It's kind of a
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little bit different show than we normally do. We're talking today. We won't talk about
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entrepreneurs. We all have one of the great models of how to engage the entrepreneur community
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in Bernie. And so I wanted to bring you on and have a conversation about that. So but first,
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let's tell the audience a little bit about who you are and what your role is here at the
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Economic Development Corporation and how have you been here? Yes, absolutely. I have been with the
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BKCEDC. Lots of letters. Lots of letters for almost seven years now. I have a background in
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finance and marketing and a law degree from University of Texas, Hookahorns.
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And have been doing Economic Development here in Kendall County and love this community and
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moved here by choice about 15 years ago. So we've seen some changes just in that period of time,
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but love what I do and love bringing businesses here and helping existing ones stay and grow.
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And that's a little bit about me. So for the audience, when you say Bernie, what part of Texas is that
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and give them a little frame of reference about where we are in the state and you bet. Bernie,
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Texas is located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, the most beautiful part of the state of Texas.
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We are just north of San Antonio, conveniently located off of I-10. We're about a 10 to 15-minute
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drive into San Antonio. So we're strategically located near San Antonio. We're about an hour and
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15 from Austin. So very close to two major metro areas in the state and really provide kind of
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the best of all worlds with proximity to two major metro areas and all that those bring,
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but also feeling like you're out of it and you're out in the country, you're out in nature.
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It's a beautiful part of the state with a lot of outdoor recreation and really has that small town
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charm, almost a mayberry feel. And it's a challenge. We want to keep that. It's a very unique community
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with a rich German heritage. A lot of people, original settlers, families still here,
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but the secrets out and folks are coming and has a lot to offer and so we welcome those people here
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and want to show the opportunities that we can provide in Bernie.
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Well, it's, you know, people don't realize I was interviewing another gentleman who's German also
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and has relocated his company here. We match up really well with Germany. The companies and the
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business owners, I think they're surprised when they come to Texas. It feels like home to them. They
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don't necessarily understand why, but obviously we have a deep heritage there that kind of makes it
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really good. It's, yes, the German settlers that came here, I mean, they are very all business,
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no nonsense. Very German like. Very German like. In a good way. In a good way. It's a great way.
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I have that heritage. I get it. That's funny. Well, so we are talking about entrepreneurism.
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Obviously, our target audience is that small business owner, small to midsize business owner,
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who has started his own business or founded a business or runs a business and is looking to
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expand or locate in Texas. One of the things we've found is that, you know, they don't really understand
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economic development and your role. Can you kind of explain to the audience why is it important
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that they get to know an economic developer? Sure. And I will say, you know, our community, I guess,
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I guess I should mention the city of Bernie's around 20,000 people. Kendall counties around 50,000
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people. So that kind of gives you an idea of our size. 94% of our businesses here have fewer than
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20 employees. So at our heart, we are a small business community. You understand it. We do. We do. We
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see it day in and day out. You know, there are some larger businesses here, but our sweet spot really
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is the small to midsize companies and providing a home for them here. We've got the workforce
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to meet that. We've got the the inventory of buildings that would be needed land that's available.
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So we've really positioned ourselves as as seeking businesses that are small to medium size.
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And you know, moving to a new community or evaluating a new community, it's helpful to have a local
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person here who can really kind of short circuit the pitfalls that you might have on where to start.
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You know, who to talk to. I say we're kind of a jack of all trades depending on what the project needs.
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We've got some that walk in the door. They've got a site identified and they want to know,
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you know, what do we need to do to get a building permit? We've got others that come in and they've
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they've got a business and they don't know the first thing about the community and where they should
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look, what's important and just some really behind them, you understand, behind the scenes
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information that can be communicated to help them have a better experience. And that's ultimately my
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goal is for every company that we deal with to have a positive experience and feel like they are
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valued here in our business community. That's that's one of the things I love about a smaller town is,
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you know, a small to mid-size company may not be a big deal in a major metro area, but you are here.
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Right. And so we strive to provide that personal attention and forge those relationships so that
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they're successful in their transition. I think so. As I'm speaking to my business owners that,
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you know, the leads when they call in, they're just not familiar with that. They're not used to
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having a community or a city that really does that for you. It's almost there at odds with their cities
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and hence why they're coming to Texas. And but Texas is so overwhelming. I mean, there's so many
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different places and every place is different. Yes. And unique and special in its own way, not good or
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bad or whatever, but there's a place for everybody. And I think the important, when you're talking to
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an economic developer such as you, you just have a sense like that business model won't work here.
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Absolutely. And so we don't want people to come in and be in the wrong place or waste a lot of time
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and effort when if they'd have made a small shift, you know, after listening to you, then it would be a
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much better thing. And I'm very honest with businesses when they come in the door because it doesn't do
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anyone any good to just make them think that what they want to do is going to work perfectly here.
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I mean, they need to be aware of what potential challenges could be and maybe a small tweak that
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would make it a much easier path to get here. And sometimes it's just the words they use. You
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can't use that word. What you're doing is fun. But if you say it like that, you're going to get crushed,
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right? Exactly. If only we're just in order too. That would make things a lot easier.
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Sometimes that's right. No, I'm not. You just ask the wrong way and you're like that, it takes people
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on a whole different course. And you're like, I needed your mindset this way. Well, our goal is, you know,
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making those connections with the businesses that are considering our community and then making
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sure that we remain there for them to make sure that they succeed here and they've got the tools
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and resources and the connections that they need in order to succeed in this location.
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How do you plan? Are you looking to elevate your business with the move to Texas?
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Join the thriving business community in Bernie Kendall County. Where successful businesses
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are flourishing in one of the nation's fastest growing counties with the unmatched support of the
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Bernie Kendall County EDC and their vibrant community spirit. Your Texas business dreams can become a
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reality. Discover the Bernie Kendall County difference today and let them help you grow your business
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in the heart of Texas. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned that today in the event and you were talking about
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the importance of the business owners engaging into the system to find the value. The value really is,
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I mean, if you just join, that's better than nothing, but unless you're engaging and really
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getting to know the people around you, you don't have to do this by yourself. That's right. I mean,
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you can benefit from the many people that have done it before you. And this community, I mean,
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you know, at 50,000 in the county, it still has a very small town feel and as businesses come in here,
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it's important to make those connections and it's really beneficial to their business,
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to know those people. I mean, I'd be hard pressed to come up with a resource that I couldn't connect
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them to locally. So, yeah, I think that's... Well, I talk a lot about, you know, a lot of some, not all
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the time, but sometimes they ask about incentives because they've seen on the news, you know, Elon Musk
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gets an incentive or something. And I let them know, I mean, you might get an incentive. The value that
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you really want to get from that isn't the incentive. That'll might be a little bit, but that's going to
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last like two seconds. It'll be there and gone. It's the relationships that you develop and the
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connections that you can make by engaging with the economic development. That's where the true value is.
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Absolutely. And, you know, every project that walks through our doors, we encourage them to do that
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pre-development meeting. Sit down whether it's a city or the county. Let's talk it through. They may have
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things that neither of us could have thought of that we need to make sure we're addressing ahead of time.
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And again, it's all about making the process as smooth and predictable and timely as possible. Right.
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So... Well, as a small business owner, I mean, time is money, right? So you've got capital out and you start
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up, I mean, you think about the process of uprooting a business from one place to another. That's already
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complicated. Yes. And so anything you can do to help shorten the cycle when you get to where you're
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going, it's kind of like putting fertilizer in, you know, with the plant, right? You like, you want to
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give it the best chance for success and working with someone like you at the EDC, being able to know,
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hey, I need to do a pre-development. I don't even know what that is. What is that? Tell me about that.
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And walking on through that process, that's something you guys do. It is. And, you know, not every company
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that comes here is aware that our organization exists. A lot of people have heard of the chamber. And
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that's an understandable thing. But the fact that we do have a local EDC that our sole purpose is to
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is to help guide these companies on the path. Right? Having their business here. It's something that we
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hope to communicate more and more that folks will stop by and tell us what they're thinking and
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we engage and help them the best way that we can. So what are some of the things, you know,
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if you're talking to business owners, types of businesses that you think are seeing that fit well
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with your community? I mean, obviously that's a big thing, right? From us, either from a staffing
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standpoint or a resource standpoint, what are some of those kind of ideal companies that would be
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really well here? Well, and, you know, when we did a strategic plan, we're in our fourth year of it,
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we really looked at, you know, we're a small town, we're a limited economic development budget,
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we cannot be all things to all people. What do we really want to see here? And that was a question
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that we asked our stakeholders, you know, what do you want to be in five, 10, 20 years? And how do we
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get there? And we were fortunate to be able to work with the University of Texas on this plan and
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they had access to a lot of research that we wouldn't have had on our own, but they really sort of
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pinpointed five target industry categories for us. You know, what we're looking for and given the
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workforce that we have and some of the assets and challenges that we have as a community,
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we want to be realistic in what we're seeking to attract. So you're going to put me on the spot
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to list all five of these. Design, build and professional services is one, light manufacturing,
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light advanced manufacturing, agritech, you know, we're a rural community still and we've seen some
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of that already kind of to my way. It's a growing field, yeah. It is. And it's an exciting field and it
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kind of, you know, marries the future and the heritage. It is on brand. That's a great way to describe it.
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What am I forgetting? Oh, biosciences. And then my favorite breweries, wineries and distilleries.
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You know, it's a, it's a neat niche that has kind of developed and we've tried to nurture it
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along, but you know, it kind of goes with the German heritage too, right? It does. You know, get a nice
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Steinabere in Bernie. Bernie is, Bernie is for beer is a slogan that was coined by one of the local
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breweries, which maybe not the most creative, but it's direct. So, hey, my marketing guys,
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says, clear and directs better than clever any day. Okay, there you go. You always have to remind me
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that because I'm always trying to be clever and he's like, dude, just be clear. Well, where we're
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located, the workforce pool that we have is much larger than our actual community size. And so,
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you know, workforce challenges exist for for everyone I get it, but I do feel like we're in a good
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position to be able to draw from a wide range of employable people. So, you've really got people
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all different skill sets, right? From the entry level worker all the way up to the guys that are doing
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programming and designing for tech and bow. Yes. Signs as you really have a good
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top to bottom workforce. Well, one of the things that we that we seek to do is bring more
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primary jobs here. I mean, Bernie is a unique community with its proximity to San Antonio. A lot
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of executives live here and then work in San Antonio. A lot of service type workers will come
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into Bernie for employment, but our goal really is to attract companies that will bring those primary
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jobs where people can both live in work and Bernie. It's a great community. People move here by choice.
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I mean, I really can say that not that many people have to move to Bernie Texas for a job,
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but they can move to Bernie Texas because they want to and have a job. So, it's a community of
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choice for a lot of people. Nice. So, talk a little bit about your entrepreneurial ecosystem here.
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Sure. Because that's one of the challenges that a lot of small times real run into is
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kind of pulling those resources and having an ecosystem at all and you guys seem to have
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bound an itch for that. It's been a huge initiative of ours and it goes back to our strategic plan
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and it was it was the first goal that came out of it. It was grow your own. You know, we're facing
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rapid growth like a lot of areas in the state and for an understandable reason. I mean,
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it's a wonderful place to live. Strong schools, great location, a beautiful part of the state.
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We had to really look internally and say, well, everybody says they want entrepreneurs. What are we
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actually doing to provide something or a reason for them to come? And so kind of the first step of that
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was the creation of an angel network and that launched in 2020. So, there is always a good place to start.
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There's access to capital. Access to capital, and it's funny. You know, if you build it, they will come
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and that is true. It's a it's a great problem to have and we've got monthly pitch events of
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companies of all types that come out and pitch to a group of very savvy local investors that want
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to see great things develop here. So that was kind of the first stage. And the second one was, okay, great.
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So there's access to capital. Where are they going to do this? How do you get started? And we really
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spend a lot of time benchmarking with other communities about what can we offer? So long story short,
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we launched an entity called DOS Greenhouse, the little nod to our German heritage. And it's a space
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where you can have very affordable office space or just co-working space if that's necessary.
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Mentorship is another component of it. We've got extremely talented mentors in this area. I mean,
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I'm constantly amazed at the low key people that move out here that have had these unbelievable
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careers and are willing to spend the time with young founders and not so young founders that are
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looking for their next their next venture. And then we've got a programming course. We spent a lot
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of time in money developing this programming course that was modeled after what they had done at
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start-up wake-o. Okay. The developer of that software program lives here in our community.
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Oh wow. So we worked with him to create this course that companies can go through and it really
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identifies gaps and opportunities for them. That's amazing. As they look to bring their
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bring their business to the next level. And the EDC will be here to support them. We want to make
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sure that we've got those local connections and that we give them every reason. Once they
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are done with the resources at DOS Greenhouse that they come and stay and put down their
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permanent routes here. So it's a strategy that we think will allow us to manage the growth while
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also nurturing those kinds of businesses that we want to see here in the long term. Right. And it
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keeps the folks that moved here engaged, right? Yes. Like you're leveraging the talent. They didn't
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just move here retire and then that knowledge just goes to waste. You're able to source it to help
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kind of build the next generation of entrepreneurs and business owners. Yes. And it's been very
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heartening to see how many people are willing to give of their time because they're interested.
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I mean they may be they're done with their professional career but they've got a lot of knowledge to
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give. And it's been great to see those folks really pour into the entrepreneurs that are considering
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Kendall County. Right. Well as we start to wrap up here. One, it's a really easy drive from the
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airport because I flew in the sporting and drove over and it was like, wait a minute, I'm here already.
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It's very easy. I was settled in for I was going to listen to my next podcast and I'm like,
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I'm here already. So there's really great location in the Alamo region and to the airport.
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Any last words to the business owner or the business community when they're sort of looking at
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this area, what are some of the thoughts that they need to be thinking about when they come in?
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What are some of the questions they need to you know that they should be thinking about when
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they talk to you? Again, I'd say our community really provides the best of all worlds. I mean if you
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want that that feeling of small town charm, you know, community where everyone knows everyone
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and you've got the homecoming parade down Main Street, you want that type of lifestyle. You can do
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that here but then you can be at the San Antonio Airport in 35 minutes. You can be an Austin,
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you know, a little over twice that time but it's just it's a unique and special community and kind
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of post-COVID as we saw a lot of folks evaluating where they're doing business, where do they live,
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where do their employees live? We've seen a lot of folks inquire about Bernie because they realize,
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you know, their job can be done from other places. So it's it's been neat to see the types of businesses
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that are looking for other locations and Bernie has gotten on their radar. So if someone's considering
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Kendall County for their for their business, I would encourage them reach out to us at the ADC. We're
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here to help you and make your path as smooth as possible. So no question is too big or too small,
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we're here to help. And as always, it's a free resource. 100% free. And that crazy. My business owners,
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I have to talk them into it. They're like, okay, what's the catch? At what point do I really pay? I'm like,
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no, really, they want to be your friend. They will want to help you. And we might give you like a,
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I don't know, a notepad or a pencil. Yeah, you might get some. Yeah, right. Just depends on when you come.
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Well, Amy, thank you so much for letting me come in today. It's been a phenomenal day.
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As always, appreciate spending time down here. You guys are you have a remarkable program. You're
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very innovative and you know, you work tirelessly. It's obvious that you love your community. And that
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shows through. So thank you for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us another
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episode here for Gone to Text. I'm your host Super Dave Quinn. And obviously we want you to like, share,
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and give us five stars on the review there. So that more people get here our show. We know there's
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lots of businesses out there that are frustrated with their current economic circumstances. Maybe
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they're not feeling that the government really is isn't the environment that they want to be in
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anymore. And so they're looking to Texas or looking for opportunities. And we would love to help you
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relocate or expand your business here in Texas. We have free resources available to you. We'll
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connect you with people like Amy Story who will really want to help you make your business a success
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here in Texas. They authentically, that's all they want. They want to help you make business
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success here in Texas. And so we thank you for joining us today. And until next time, make it a great day.
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Thank you for tuning into this episode of Gone to Texas. The official podcast of the Texas
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Economic Development Connection, powered by day one experts. A collection of the country's best-known
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economic development professionals offering on demand services to communities across the nation.
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[Music]
